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Chapter 995: Chapter 873: Making Some ’Small’ Money (Subscribe please!)
It had just begun.
Tang Qing and others were seen approaching on a speedboat.
The man originally thought he would be rescued.
However, seeing a large group of people arriving with dozens of black bags on the boat, he, having seen his share of the world, recognized that the size of those bags resembled body bags.
Suddenly.
All the hairs on his body stood on end.
Then, seeing the fighters digging pits, his heart sank to the bottom.
Destroying evidence.
This was the only scenario he could think of—it was like finding a wolf’s den when cornered.
It was just a bit strange; if it was about destroying evidence, throwing the bodies directly into the sea, or weighing them down with stones would suffice.
Why bury them? Could it be some treasure? The man had no interest in any treasure; his only interest now was how to leave the Solitary Island, and these people didn’t look like good folk.
He could only watch and wait.
He kept observing nearby.
After the bags were buried.
Watching these people getting ready to leave, he felt reluctant; just as he was anxiously hesitating, he saw the others leave, only the young Tang Qing stayed and even climbed up to the top of the island’s mountain.
Not knowing what he intended to do.
Now.
Two sentences from Tang Qing.
Made him realize that he had been discovered.
Had Tang Qing known all along that he was on the island?
Since he had been discovered.
There was no point in hiding anymore.
"Crack."
Stepping on dry branches, the man approached behind Tang Qing and asked, "Young man, did you know I was on the island?" Tang Qing had just spoken in Chinese, so he responded in Chinese as well.
"With so many traces of human activity on the beach, it would be hard not to notice someone was here."
Speaking.
Tang Qing turned around.
He smiled and sized up the middle-aged man before him. The man’s eyes were bright, and his demeanor was distinctive—even in such a predicament, his tone carried strong confidence and authority.
Most importantly, he also spoke Chinese.
Maruyama Takeshi.
A magnate from Japan.
A month ago.
His private jet had taken off from New York, USA, headed for Europe to conduct business. Then, there was no afterward; the news reported a plane crash, and despite searches by various forces for over half a month, no trace was found.
After such a long search effort.
Japan had already given up hope.
And this time.
The funeral Ge Tian attended in Japan was for this very Maruyama Takeshi; the two were old acquaintances. It was quite amusing to think that Ge Tian was attending the funeral of a living person—it was intriguing to imagine the interesting situations that might arise when Maruyama Takeshi returned this time.
Most importantly.
This time Tang Qing felt he was going to make a bit of ’easy’ money.
"Are you Huaxia?" asked Maruyama Takeshi, his voice deep as he fixed his eyes on Tang Qing, his mind recalling memories, yet he couldn’t tell if Tang Qing was a friend or foe.
Tang Qing smiled at Maruyama Takeshi and replied, "What else?"
"What’s your purpose?" Maruyama Takeshi asked again.
Gently shaking his head, Tang Qing smiled and said, "As for my purpose, I don’t have one for the time being. I too just happened onto this small island by chance, just as I happened upon you. Moreover, I’m contemplating whether or not to help you."
Hearing Tang Qing’s final words.
Maruyama Takeshi hurriedly said; "Get me out of here, and I can pay you."
"How much?" Tang Qing asked with a teasing smile.
"One million dollars," Maruyama Takeshi threw out a number without hesitation.
One million dollars was certainly not a small amount. Maruyama Takeshi thought Tang Qing would agree, or perhaps even ask for more in order to hitch a ride. Yet, Tang Qing shook his head and said, "It seems we have no need to discuss further... Mister Maruyama Takeshi."
At that moment.
Maruyama Takeshi could no longer remain calm.
"Do you know me?" Maruyama Takeshi inhaled deeply, surprised that Tang Qing knew his name.
"Mr. Maruyama Takeshi, I happened to see the news of your disappearance once. When I saw you just now, I suddenly remembered. However, I must say, the location of your plane crash was far too distant from their search area," Tang Qing lied.
"You want to extort me." Maruyama Takeshi stared intently into Tang Qing’s eyes.
Tang Qing shook his head, "No, no, no, I am a legitimate businessman, how could I extort you? I merely want to discuss a business deal with you. After all, saving you has made me enemies with quite a few people.
You do not think I am unaware of who your enemies are? Thus, saving you involves risks for me. Even if you go back, you won’t be able to eliminate your enemies any time soon, which makes things difficult for me."
Maruyama Takeshi fell silent.
Having heard Tang Qing’s explanation, he of course understood the implications.
His airplane had crashed, and he had known aboard that it was no accident. Even if he returned and regained control, he couldn’t get rid of his enemies, because he had no evidence.
"What do you want?" Maruyama Takeshi asked, feeling despair inside. Even if Tang Qing demanded something outrageous, he could think of no reason to refuse, because a refusal would mean death.
The food on the island would barely last him through the next week.
"Your company, Mei Heavy Transportation, isn’t this extortion?" Tang Qing said with a brilliant smile on his face.
Maruyama Takeshi was taken aback.
Is that all?
Mei Heavy Transportation.
A shipping company under his ownership.
It primarily dealt with the transportation of minerals and crude oil, with several dozen vessels, mostly operating on the Atlantic route between Africa, Europe, and the United States. Its profitability was decent, but it wasn’t one of his most important assets.
Its value was around 400 million dollars.
"Are you sure?" Maruyama Takeshi sought confirmation.
"Yes, Mei Heavy Transportation. I just want that one company." Tang Qing nodded. Maruyama Takeshi owned many assets, but many were not ones he could dispose of at will. What interested him was just this company.
The others.
Forget it.
There was no need to squeeze someone too harshly all at once, there would be other days.
After thinking it over, Maruyama Takeshi felt that this amount, to buy his own life, was worth it. He agreed, "As long as I safely return to Japan, the company is yours."
Goal achieved, Tang Qing happily said, "It seems our cooperation is going to be very pleasant, Mr. Maruyama Takeshi. As long as you safely reach Japan and reclaim your former position, fulfill our contract, how does that sound?"
"I agree." Maruyama Takeshi quickly nodded.
"A wise choice."
The road down the mountain was treacherous.
Twenty minutes later.
They arrived at the shore.
A small boat came towards them.
Maruyama Takeshi followed Tang Qing onto the boat and looked back at the small island where he had lived for over half a month. He felt no nostalgia whatsoever for the hardships, never knowing if each day would be his last. No one would miss that life.
Having escaped from death, his psyche had undergone many changes.
"What were you guys doing just now?" Maruyama Takeshi asked curiously.
Tang Qing did not hide anything and pointed to the approaching salvage ship, "See that? A salvage ship. It just recovered several bodies of Chinese workers, none of whom can be identified. It’s not even known where to bury them, so they are letting them rest in peace nearby."
"My mother is from Huaxia," Maruyama Takeshi suddenly said.
Tang Qing was not surprised and spoke slowly, "I of course knew that, otherwise, do you think I’d only want just one minor shipping company?"
This statement.
Put Maruyama Takeshi at ease.
"Heh, you’re quite greedy, aren’t you?" Tang Qing implied that if Maruyama Takeshi had been purely from Japan, he would have ’extorted’ him until it hurt, and perhaps he wouldn’t have even saved his life.
"No, no, no, this is earnings from my labor," Tang Qing emphasized.
Hearing this, Maruyama Takeshi laughed loud, "Such ’earnings from labor,’ haha. But how do you plan to safely send me back?"
"It’s not me, it’s your daughter."
"My daughter?" Maruyama Takeshi was stunned.
Tang Qing explained, "Your daughter never gave up searching for you, refused to return for your funeral, and I heard she caused quite a stir. Right now, her boat is drifting on this Atlantic Ocean, and you will be able to call her in a while."
"..."
Maruyama Takeshi opened his mouth wide.
He didn’t know what to say; earning money seemed too easy this way.
And this matter even involved his daughter. If Tang Qing was a bad guy, after catching them all together in a while...
Seeing the look in Maruyama Takeshi’s eyes, Tang Qing was speechless. Persecution paranoia really is a natural human skill, "You don’t need to look at me like that. If I wanted to harm you, you would be dead by now."
